I'm sure you've seen plenty of those light and breezy ads for sleep-aid drugs. Just take the drug and wake up bright-eyed and smiling in a sunshiny world!

Are there side effects? Well of course there are! But you're on top of the world, you well-rested pup. Get out there and enjoy yourself!

Hard to resist a promise like that.

Naturally, the reality isn't quite so breezy.

Risk of permanent sleep

Chronic lack of sleep increases insulin resistance and other heart disease risk factors. And that's just the worst of it. Irritability, fuzzy thinking, headaches, and an out-of-whack immune system are all part of the package.

But as bad as it is to miss out on your rest, relying on a sleep-aid might actually be worse.

For 12 years, Canadian researchers surveyed more than 14,000 adults every two years. Results showed that regular use of sedative or hypnotic sleep-aid drugs, such as Ambien and Sonata, was linked to a 36 percent increased risk of death during the study period. And this was AFTER accounting for factors such as existing diseases, lifestyle, smoking, depression, etc.

The Canadian team reports that these powerful drugs might boost death risk in a variety of ways...

• Central nervous system inhibition
• Respiratory inhibition
• Impaired coordination
• Impaired alertness
• Reduced reaction time

The most troubling news concerned seniors. Researchers found the highest increase in mortality rates among people over 55. This is largely due to the high use of these drugs in this age group. About 3-to-10 percent of the general population uses sedative/hypnotic sleep-aids, compared to about one in every five seniors.

Four more ways to go

When Dr. Spreen sent me the item about the Canadian study, he included this note: "Imagine even a 2% increase in deaths associated with tryptophan, melatonin, valerian, kava, etc."

We know what he's getting at, of course. FDA officials would be up in arms, warning consumers to immediately discontinue use of those non-drug sleep-aids.

And Dr. Spreen's note also neatly answers this question: "What can I take to help me get to sleep SAFELY?"

Several years ago I asked Dr. Spreen if any of those four natural sleep-aids might cause a dangerous physical impairment or morning-after fogginess. He told me the risks are FAR less--especially with l-tryptophan.

Dr. Spreen: "I've never seen a 'drug fog' with that, and that's even when many grams are required to get some sleep for a difficult subject. Enough kava might do it, but you'd have to be deliberately overdosing. Valerian seems to be the mildest of the bunch."

It's the stuff of sweet dreams and good mornings.

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